On April 9th, Concentric will host and moderate a webinar on Environment, Society, and Governance (ESG) for Utilities. In this session, panelists from MSCI ESG Research, the Edison Electric Institute, and Fortis Inc. will discuss why ESG practices are becoming an essential utility issue, including a discussion of the analytics between ESG ratings and financial performance, and the key benefits of ESG practices to utilities. Moderated by Jim Coyne, Senior Vice President, Concentric Energy Advisors, panelists will include:

Nora Duke, EVP, Sustainability and Chief Human Resource Officer, Fortis Inc. Nora Duke is Executive Vice President, Sustainability and Chief Human Resource Officer of Fortis Inc. In her current role, Ms. Duke provides oversight and has executive responsibility for sustainability and human resource strategy and related people and organizational accountabilities, including diversity. Her functional areas of responsibility include corporate culture and engagement, executive compensation, talent management and succession planning. Other significant corporate functions associated with her role include corporate communications and public policy. Ms. Duke was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network. She was also inducted into Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEO Hall of Fame.

Headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Fortis Inc. is a leader in the North American electric and gas utility business, with total assets of approximately C$50 billion and fiscal 2017 revenue of C$8.2 billion. Its regulated utilities serve more than three million customers in 17 locations across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. In the United States (U.S.), Fortis owns and operates Central Hudson Gas & Electric in New York, UNS Energy in Arizona and ITC Holdings headquartered in Michigan and operating throughout the U.S. midwest.

Samantha Sue Ping, Vice President, Head of ESG Issuer Communications. Samantha Sue Ping leads the ESG Issuer Communications team at MSCI ESG Research, responsible for overseeing all interactions with MSCI ESG Research-rated issuers. Prior to this, she was the Canadian market lead at ISS Corporate Services, assisting companies develop their governance and sustainability strategies. Samantha also spent several years as an ESG analyst with RiskMetrics, and then MSCI, Inc, focused on the Health Care and Technology sectors. She holds a Masters in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University, with a specialization in human rights.

Umar Ashfaq, Associate, MSCI ESG Research – Utilities/Industrials. Umar Ashfaq is an Associate at MSCI ESG Research, covering listed equities in the utilities sector focusing on the North American region. His prior experience includes portfolio management encompassing public and private equities, corporate finance and equity research in the Middle East and Pakistan. Prior to joining MSCI, Umar worked with a foundation focused on improving access to education and healthcare in Pakistan. He holds a Master in Public Administration in Environmental Science & Policy from Columbia University, and a BSc degree in Math from Lahore University of Management Sciences (Pakistan).

Michael Buckley, Senior Manager of Financial Analysis at EEI. In addition to acting as the primary steward for the electric industry’s aggregate financial data, Michael analyzes key concepts and trends relevant to the industry and regularly issues financial expertise to the leadership at EEI. He has also taken a leading role in EEI’s sustainability program for the electric industry, helping to launch an environmental, social, governance, and sustainability (ESG/sustainability) reporting template, which allows EEI member companies to provide investors with more uniformity and better consistency in reporting ESG/sustainability metrics. Prior to joining the Institute in 2015, Mr. Buckley worked as an Economic Analyst for Exeter Associates, an independent consulting firm specializing in regulatory economics. Mr. Buckley earned a B.S. in Agricultural Economics, with a concentration in Natural Resource Economics, from Colorado State University in 2010.